100 Theme Challenge
by dadadadum
Summary: Oneshots, various pairings, Naruto related. Rating to be safe.
1. Checkers

Characters: Shikamaru & Sakura  
Rating: K  


* * *

"ARRRGH!"

After only a few turns, Shikamaru's little round 'Kinged' checker hopped over the last of Sakura's red pieces, crushing the image she'd had of herself as an intelligent being.

Trembling at the end of her rope, she brought down a fist on the table, laden with plenty of unnecessary chakra. Shikamaru, being experienced with Sakura's flavor of temper tantrums, leaned wearily out of reach as she permanently dissembled the checker board. When she looked on the verge of setting fire to the remains, Shikamaru groaned. Women were a pain.

"If it makes you feel any better, you lasted longer than Naruto."

Oops.

She flipped what was left of the table, pinning him beneath shredded bits of wood and flimsy bits of checkered scraps. _Troublesome..._

"Naru - NARUTO?! He's an IDIOT! That's supposed to be ENCOURAGING?!" A vein was now prominent between disheveled strands of candy-pink hair.

Interacting with women was nowhere near Shikamaru's strong point. Desperate for a coolant, he tried to slip out from under the cracked table, his hands up in surrender. "Hey - we could play again, and I'll let you win." This was not what Sakura wanted to hear, Shikamaru learned. She did let him up, though, but only to give him a black eye before promising to never play him in a board game again. Ever.

Being smart was a bother.


	2. Gloves

Characters: Sakura & Tsunade  
Rating: K

* * *

She remembers the day her teacher handed her the small, brown package. Nothing lavish, of course, from the practical woman. Simple black gloves, made of hardier material than could be found in Leaf Village. Muttered thanks was too much for Godaime, she smirked, and there was no silliness about how do you like the fabric or is the color alright or even if they fit, because as Hokage, she simply knew those sorts of things about her apprentice.

All she said after Sakura opened the box was, "Put 'em on, and meet me at Training Field Four in five minutes."

They were fantastic gloves, as far as handwear went. Custom crafted (Shizune told her later) from a tailor in Suna, they withstood heat and cold without expanding or contracting, and were able to almost completely absorb painful impact on her hands; A necessary addition for someone with Sakura's battle style. The Godaime might have had si - ("AHEM!") - _many_ years learning to ignore scraped knuckles, broken fingers, and sprained wrists, but it was nice to have the added protection when she was still just learning about the perfect fluctuation of chakra to delve into the earth and bust it from the inside out.

Tsunade wasn't the type of teacher to give her hugs, and shout how proud she was of Sakura's accomplishment. It meant enough, though, to recieve the gloves, as assurance that she wasn't a lost cause.


	3. Protector

Character: Lee  
Rating: K

* * *

For Rock Lee, it was all instinct, and it took him by surprise.

Usually, he was regimented by sharp discipline, strict training schedules in between daily training exercises and more training. Gai-sensei's rules were tough, and elaborate, and generally spontaneous, but nonetheless encouraging. Five-hundred sit-ups must be accomplished before breakfast, another five hundred after, followed by twenty-five laps around the village and then fifteen on his hands... and the list went on.

With Neji as commander instead of their teacher, he intended to listen just as fully and with as much conviction. "_Return to this spot_," Neji had instructed, but for the first time in a long time, Lee found himself unable to comply.

On the far side of a small clearing, she knelt, guarding with her own life the precious people hidden in the thick roots of an enormous tree.

Lee knew in a single glance that, not only did she have no chance of defending the two boys, but she was frightfully aware of this fact, and refused to move despite. Her muscles tensed with the knowledge that she could not protect her teammates, even though they'd protected her countless times before.

He hadn't thought about it at the time, but later he figured she'd be grateful of the help, and return the favor (at least that's what he told Tenten so the brunette would stop shaking him). Oh, and his promise! Of course, that was the biggest factor that drove him from the boughs, into the path of danger. She was his precious person to save, just as Naruto and Sasuke were her's.


	4. Tear

a/n: This one is with characters of my own invention, not Naruto universe, or anything. 8[

Characters: Ellie Mason & Benjamin Rockford  
Rating: K

* * *

"Onions suck."

Ellie only giggled, setting down her peeler for a moment to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, and then returning to the potatoes. "I warned you."

"I didn't even volunteer for this," he complained. "Forced labor is forbidden in most countries, you know."

The freshly skinned potatoes thunked dully into the plastic bowl she tossed them in, beside the dish where Benny was supposed to be putting the diced onions, if only he could stop crying. She coughed to disguise her chuckling, and the disturbed expression on his face intensified.

With a grunt, he stabbed the pearing knife into the cutting board, and ground his palms against the moisture in his eyes. "I have never cried this much in my entire life, Ellie. Do you have any idea how much damage you're doing to my ego?"

She rolled her eyes, setting down a half-peeled potatoe and elbowing him out of the way. "It's not that bad, you whiner." She yanked his blade from the cutting board, and proceeded to chop the rest of onions, while he leaned against the counter and threw in odd complaints every few minutes. "See?" She remarked after finishing, and using the knife to scrape the diced bits of vegetable into a bigger bowl.

He huffed, unimpressed. "Your chunks are sorta huge. You don't actually expect people to eat those?"

"Har, har," she droned, lifting the bowl and pointing with her elbow. "Take the lid off that pot on the stove."

"Yessir," he mocked, but abliged easily enough. Well, except for wailing at the top of his lungs when steam billowed out (as can be expected from boiling water) and - "AUGH! Condensation! My glasses! I'm BLIND!"

"Don't be such a baby!"

The pot roast got finished, eventually, but not before Slink discovered the delicious smell and attempted to steal the meat for one of his "pets". Benjamin was forced to attack the small boy with a wooden spoon, and sustained a rather serious bite in the process.


End file.
